2022 Progress Report: Decade of Change

PROGRESS REPORT 2022

DECADE OF CHANGE

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

2022 was a strange year.

There was a sense that unpaid debts were being called in. Economists expressed fears about an impending recession, even as unemployment was at an all time low. Food prices and rents surged. Those less well off did worse and the rich got richer. The war between Ukraine and Russia waged onwhat began as an unimaginable rupture of contained global tension became a deadly storm constantly on the horizon. Fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions surged as people got back to what is considered “normal”.

Our debts to nature were being called in as well. Ottawa was shaken by a derecho storm (a term many of us had never heard of before),

floods in Montreal, sweltering summer heat, fires across the Prairies and BC, and then the brutal path of Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada. In spite of the worsening climate, the 27th UN climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt made it clear (for the 27th time) that countries are failing to meet their climate commitments.

For us at Sierra Club Canada Foundation it felt like we were getting ready for what is to come. 2022 was a year of building our resilience and responsiveness to our community. We invested in a new accessible and engaging website to communicate more effectively and invite more people to join our community. We deepened our Wild Child programming and partnerships in order to engage children and youth from Indigenous and equity seeking

communities. While continuing to provide tens of thousands of hours outdoors for children and youth, we initiated new mentoring and youth leadership programming. In a year when the price of everything went up, I am proud to say that, through our partnership with United Way - PEI, we were the only forest school in Canada to offer free spots to 50% of participating families. We created new understandings of our connections to the land and each other by launching the Saunter project, which continued to provide landbased learnings in Edmonton into 2023.

All the while our impact grew. We helped stop millions of tonnes of carbon emissions and plastic pollution. We fended off Nova Scotia Power’s attempt to end rooftop solar installations. We flipped the conversation about the supposed “cost” of switching off coal-fired electricity to talk about “energy democracy” – how communities can generate clean energy, become more efficient, and benefit from the profits this generates. We continued to fight for protection of nature and habitat in Southern Ontario and Quebec. We initiated a court challenge and collaborated with international partners to stop the Bay du Nord offshore oil project. And at the Montreal biodiversity summit in December, I worked with fellow Directors and friends from around the world to get “rights of nature” included in the Global Biodiversity Framework.

As well as being President, I chair our national Conservation Committee. We discuss Sierra Club policies and campaigns - some of which our volunteers have led for decades! Whether we’re pushing municipalities to live up to their commitments to protect nature, or developing strategies to address inequality and the twin biodiversity-climate crises, I am continually struck by how our grassroots approach yields new ways of thinking and acting on issues. We form alliances so that together we can push back effectively - as in our campaign for rooftop solar in Nova Scotia. In such strange times, creative, effective advocacy and local resilience are needed more than ever.

If you’ve gotten this far in my message, you now know more about the critical issues we are tackling in this Decade of Change. If you are new to the Sierra Club, I welcome you to be part of this incredible movement.

Thank you for all you do every day to be a powerful force for positive change.

Ole Hendrickson President and Chair Sierra Club Canada Foundation

DECADE OF CHANGE

2020 - 2030

Sierra Club Canada Foundation members and supporters committed to mobilize in this crucial decade in response to the global scientific consensus that the climate crises and threats to biodiversity warrant an urgent and systemic change.

We envision a world…

• that is powered by 100% clean energy;

• where the rights of Mother Earth are recognized and honoured;

• where there is social and economic fairness upheld by strong democratic decision-making;

• where we live within and respect the Earth’s limited resources; and

• where everyone has access to the outdoors and has a sense of belonging in nature.

Sierra Club Canada is committed to fulfilling this vision through grassroots action and partnerships, high impact campaigns to stop new fossil fuel projects and foster energy democracy, and unique programs such as our WIld Child forest schools and our Breathe Easy citizen science initiative.

Making Change

Championing climate solutions and a rapid transition to clean energy.

Bay du Nord, LNG in Atlantic Canada, and Stopping the Expansion of Oil and Gas

Stopping oil and gas drilling on Canada’s East Coast - Keeping Billions of Barrels of Oil in the Ground and Targeting a Billion Tonnes of Climate Pollution

- We are challenging the approval 1 billion barrel of oil Bay du Nord Project. If Bay du Nord were to go ahead it would result in 430 Mt CO2 being emitted. This would be equivalent to from 95 million gas fired cars for a year - same amount of emissions from gas fired passenger cars in Canada for 3.7 years.

- Bay du Nord is also considered to be the gateway for more oil and gas projects off the coast of NL. Its fate could decide if billions more barrels of oil are extracted by future projects.

- Participating in Equinor's AGM we got shareholders to push for the company to account for the impact of its drilling projects in terms of their ability to meet the Paris Climate Accord. Shortly afterward, Equinor announced a three year delay in proceeding with Bay du Nord!

- We are keeping oil drilling out of an ocean area the size of Alberta in the Northwest Atlantic through a legal challenge to the flawed impact assessment that exempted exploration drilling from impact assessment.

- Secured the continued protection of the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank from oil development by working with members of the Nova Scotia Offshore Alliance, ensuring the extension of the ten-year moratorium on oil exploration and drilling there.

Bay du Nord, LNG in Atlantic Canada, and Stopping the Expansion of Oil and Gas

“We need to reject Bay du Nord and start planning for a better future. We need to, or we won’t have a future to look forward to.”

— Heather Elliott, “What’s all the Fuss about Bay du Nord?”

The Telegram, March 29,

2022

1000s of messages, over 200 of phone calls and joined forces with 126 citizens groups

and academics from NL and across Canada to stop the Bay du Nord oil drilling project.

Co-founded the Stop Atlantic Gas Alliance, which successfully pushed back against new LNG Projects in Atlantic Canada through awareness, education, and public opinion polling

Our National Programs Director addressed the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Equinor, at their AGM in May 2022 in Stavanger Norway, garnering international media attention for the Bay d Nord project and building alliance in Norway to work in solidarity against the project.

- We finally stopped oil drilling in the Gulf of St. Lawrence! Given estimated fossil fuel reserves this victory kept 647 million tonnes of ghg emissions out of the atmosphere - the same as all gas fired passenger cars in Canada of the road for 6.3 years.

- Stopped new LNG Projects from blowing provincial ghg emission targets through action and awareness: in 2022, we and members of Stop Atlantic Gas Alliance secured the abandonment of the Repsol LNG Plant which would emit 1.2 million tonnes of ghg emissions per year- which would have made it the third biggest polluter in the province of NB.

Fighting emissions from 4 coal fired plants in Nova Scotiathe source of 43% of the climate pollution in the province

- Fought for the acceleration of shutdown of coal and biomass in the Atlantic Region

- Successfully pushed back on an efforts to kill rooftop solar power in Nova Scotia

- Ensured the emissions from the Donkin Coal mine, the second biggest fugitive methane emitter in NS, are subject to a price on carbon for its activities - if not for its huge methane emissions.

Working to Promote Safe Affordable Energy and Stop Nuclear Power in NB

“I’m most proud of our work to limit the length of the license extension of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant on the Bay of Fundy. NB Power asked the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for an unprecedented 25 year extension, and the CNSC staff recommended 25 years to the Commissioners. We prepared a lengthy and awesome 60-page submission to the CNSC (in partnership with the Canadian Environmental Law Association) opposing the 25 year length to protect public health and the environment. We participated actively at the hearing over three days in May 2022. We worked closely with our Indigenous partners who submitted letters supporting our submission. We conducted an impressive Facebook campaign (see stats above) urging people to send written interventions to the CNSC and in the end there were about 240 submissions, of which 145 (the majority) were against the 25 year request. Our group was the primary ENGO mobilizing for this activity. The Commissioners gave NB Power a 10 year license and cited the high number of submissions as a key factor in their decision. Yeah! 10 years is still too long but it was definitely a big win.”

—Dr. Susan O’Donnell, Coalition for Responsible Energy Development, New Brunswick

25 Messages sent to decision-makers and officials on Small Modular Nuclear Reactors and Point Lepreau Nuclear Power Plant in New Brunswick

Gave 5 Presentations and hosted 3 Webinars with over 400 participants on the costs and dangers of nuclear energy

Issued 13 newsletters on the dangers of nuclear power and safe, clean affordable alternatives

Issued 1 Procedural Request to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change to push for more thorough environmental assessment for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors and Issued 5 Policy Statements

Making Change

Creating a Sense of Belonging in Nature

“Priya has been attending Wild Child for several years, and we are so glad that it’s a part of her life. While our family does spend quite a bit of time outdoors, we can honestly say that the Wild Child program has made this much easier. She is always eager to show us the Wild Child campsites, different terrain features, and lead us on hikes, so we use that to get outside on the days that the pull of the iPad is extra strong. As parents we really appreciate the excellent communication skills of the Wild Child staff, both with us and with the kids. We also appreciate that the kids are treated with empathy and respect, and that the few times that conflict arises between kids, staff guide them through it using healthy conflict resolution tools. And of course we love that our daughter has the opportunity to try new things and enjoy imaginative play with other kids in the forest!”

- Lindsay & Bob Snyder, Wild Child Parents

“I’m Priya, and I think I’ve been going to Wild Child since I was six years old. I’m twelve now. So I’m a forest leader now. I help smaller kids, and when there’s new forest friends I share what we do at forest school. I like being at Wild Child because I get to meet new friends, and play lots. I like sledding (in the winter), going on forest walks, hearing and watching the birds, playing in the creek, and catching crayfish. I really, really like the hammocks at Wild Child, and story time.”

- Priya Snyder, Forest Leader

Wild Child and Youth Mentorship

• Our Wild Child Forest School and Outdoor Education programs provided 60,000 hours outside for children and youth - doubling the number of hours provided from the year before.

• 1350 children and youth participated in Wild Child in PEI, Nova Scotia, and Edmonton.

• 311 the spots provided through our Prince Edward Island program were free to priority populations including 2SLGBTQ+ families, BIPOC families, kids with disabilities, and low-income families.

• We trained 5 educators in forest school outdoor education methodology.

• We launched the Wild Child Youth Leaders program, and programs for BIPOC and LGBTQ2E+ Youth aged 15-17 who wish to mentor others.

• Volunteers in our five Chapters hosted over 25 volunteer-led hikes and events to connect people with nature and encourage stewardship.

• 17 Hiking Hero leaders hosted hikes in their communities and raised $6,300 for the work of our Chapters.

“Becoming a community partner with Decathlon - having a company with values that align with our own and wanting to support us, was a huge accomplishment for me."

- Ashley Whynot, Wild Child NS Coordinator

Making Change

Working to protect and restore nature and endangered species

- We championed the rights of Mother Earth at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, QC. Along with allies around the world we helped ensure the inclusion of the rights nature in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

- We are working in our four regional Chapters to advance the protection for endangered species and key habitats, including wetlands in the Prairie region, a proposed new national urban park in the Edmonton region, bird habitat in municipalities in Quebec, and threatened habitats in Southern Ontario.

- Reaching 5-7 million people with over 140 film screenings and television broadcasts of the Last of the Right Whales film - which was the top Canadian film in theatres when it premiered in February 2022.

- Upholding protection of the equivalent of one quarter of the landmass of Ontario in ocean space off Canada’s East Coast from oil drilling by stopping oil and gas exploration and drilling on Georges Bank and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

- Pushed for restoration and Indigenous knowledge-based approach to protect the Gulf of St. Lawrence through an educational webinar series and art.

Making Change

Fighting for environmental and social justice

We belong to over 50 coalitions and alliances dedicated to supporting indigenous rights and embracing environmental justice.

We worked to ensure Indigenous rights are being acknowledged in the Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario, resulting in the decision to scrap the federal impact assessment that failed to integrate Indigenous coleadership and concerns.

Making Change

Promoting the conservation of resources

We helped secure a ban on six types of single use plastic (such as bags, cutlery, and straws) eliminating 1.3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year.

As part of Plastic Free July, an event our Ontario Chapter has championed since 2019, we hosted two beach clean ups in the Toronto region. Trash was removed from 30 acres of Cherry Beach and 180 cubic feet of trash was removed from Tommy Thompson Park.

Grassroots Action

“I’m proud of Sierra Club Canada's new website, social media activism, and the integration with artists and musicians to amplify environmental calls to action."

- Brynna Kagawa-VisentinSierra Youth Director, 2022

Advocacy

We were featured in over 183 media stories in outlets ranging from international publication The Guardian to the St. John’s Telegram to The Green Interview Podcast/Radio Show.

Our volunteers and staff participated in two UN Conferences of the Parties to Treaties on Climate Change and Biological Diversity (COP27 in Egypt and COP15 in Montreal, Quebec).

We issued over 20 policy positions and declarations to advance the goals of the Decade of Change.

We are challenging the legality of expanding offshore oil and gas off Newfoundland and Labrador through 2 court cases.

“I’m most proud of helping to raise awareness about the development of Eisner’s Cove Wetland, along with other well-known activists like Eliot Page.”

— Michelle Moraitis, Community Impact Coordinator

Movement Building & Engagement

In 2022 the reach of our national online community expanded:

Facebook 462,841 impressions, up by 149%

Instagram 159,927 impressions, up by 76%

Twitter 46.8K impressions

Our Breathe Easy citizen science initiative trained over 150 high school students to measure air quality in Ottawa, Ontario.

We actively participated in over 50 coalitions and alliances made up of 525 member groups from across Canada and around the world.

Working with generous donors and allies, we supported the rapid growth of the Beyond Coal project & Sierra Atlantic chapter engagement, thanks to the leadership of Tynette Deveaux and added capacity of Lindsay Lee as multimedia editor and the ongoing graphic design by Oshean Juneja. Please see our special report on the following pages.

Braiding Sweetgrass Book Club facilitated in-depth explorations and discussions of this incredible book, and deepened our commitment to fight for the Rights of Mother Earth.

Over 2,500 participants engaged by 19 events hosted by the Peel Group in the Ontario Chapter!

17 Hiking Hero volunteer leaders hosted hikes and walks across the country, and raised $6300 for Sierra Club Chapters.

9 Sierra Youth Podcast episodes highlighting topics ranging from environmental leadership, climate justice to national poetry month.

Changing Our Energy Story in Atlantic Canada

1. We’ve gone head-to-head with Nova Scotia Power Inc. and its parent company Emera Inc.

At the end of January, NSPI announced it was applying to the provincial regulator to raise rates and charge customers a number of new fees. One of those was a new systems access fee of $8 per kw per month on net-metered installations; this immediately sent the local solar industry into a tailspin. Our team reacted swiftly, mobilizing Nova Scotians to push back against NSPI’s plans.

Along with local solar industry representatives and customers, the Beyond Coal team featured prominently in press coverage on this issue. Days after it was announced, NSPI said it was withdrawing the net-metering systems access fee request and would consult with the solar industry. The Houston government has since legislated against the proposed fee.

Our call to action generated more than 1,000 emails directed to NSPI’s President and CEO Peter Gregg and Emera Inc. President and CEO Scott Balfour.

2. We took NSPI to task over its general rate application to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. Our primary objective was to educate the public, and we did.

Several of the arguments we presented to the UARB have since been addressed, in part, by new legislation put forward by the Houston government to reign in NSPI. However, the legislation does not go far enough. On October 31, 2022, we presented our concerns to the Nova Scotia Law Amendments Committee.

3. We’re a powerful voice against coal

A recent article in Nova Scotia’s Chronicle Herald highlights the recognition our campaign has garnered in the fight against coal.

In September, Kameron Coal reopened the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton. By cultivating trusted relationships with local journalists and educating them about coal-mining impacts and legislative loopholes, we’ve helped the media do a better job covering the issues, resulting in articles that exposed the enormous methane footprint of the Donkin mine, and revealed that the mining company is allowed to voluntarily self-report emissions to government and operate outside the province’s cap-and-trade program.

Nova Scotia Power’s recent admission that it’s in talks with Kameron Coal about purchasing coal from the Donkin mine is a further reminder of the imperative of closing the mine.

We will continue to loudly call upon the Nova Scotia government to shut down the Donkin mine and support community members living near the mine who are valiantly fighting to shut it down once and for all.

4. Our webinars have reached hundreds of people.

What if the wind doesn’t blow!? – with Mark Jacobson, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, and an internationally recognized expert on pathways to 100% wind, water, and solar energy.

100% Clean Renewable Energy? Absolutely! A three-part series researched and presented by Maggie Bunbury, Clean Energy Researcher for the Beyond Coal Atlantic Campaign. The webinars examined the electricity regimes and climate plans in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. While the series pointed to the many shortcomings of the provincial plans, it also emphasized that each of the provinces can achieve 100% clean renewable energy by 2035.

What is energy democracy? Meet Summerside Electric! – an inspiring presentation by the Director of Municipal Service for Summerside Electric— PEI’s only municipally owned and operated power utility. Summerside Electric is a leader in the transition to clean, renewable, and affordable energy. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021.

More than 400 people signed up for our webinars,

and the recordings were shared on social media and via e-newsletters, including those of our allies and invited co-hosts, such as the David Suzuki Foundation, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

5. Our social media has grown by leaps and bounds

The Beyond Coal team has driven the increased traffic and engagement on the Atlantic Chapter’s social media. Our strong social media presence has helped us grow and mobilize support for the Beyond Coal campaign and also support for our allies.

Social media growth

FOLLOWERS REACH/IMPRESSIONS

279.4% (UP) COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE

50% INCREASE IN FOLLOWERS

20% INCREASE IN FOLLOWERS

1000+ NEW FOLLOWERS GAINED ON TIKTOK THIS YEAR LAUNCHED YOUTUBE CHANNEL IN 2021 TOTAL

229,647 — UP 1400% COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE

20K — UP 800% COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE

10K+ IMPRESSIONS PER MONTH AT AN AVERAGE THIS YEAR ALONE

186K+ VIEWS ON TIKTOK

This rapid growth is thanks to the added capacity of Lindsay Lee as Multimedia Editor and the ongoing graphic wizardry of Oshean Juneja. In addition, the new campaign website, beyondclimatepromises.ca , (produced entirely in-house in a matter of weeks) has given us the necessary means to effectively host the Explainers, press releases, newsletters, stories, and videos we share on social media.

1000+ VIEWS ON YOUTUBE

2022 Financial report

NGO's & Charities: $439,119

Government Contracts: $354,117

Revenue

Donations: $485,303

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO'S) & CHARITIES

Programs: $1,173,040

Operations: $231,017 Development: $49,706

Gala de la Terre: Thanks to Bita Cattelan and the Orchestre de l'Agora

Raised $255,000 to Three Amazing Charities that Safeguard and Nurture Children and Youth - including Sierra Club Canada!

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following Foundations and Institutions:

Alberta Ecotrust

Calgary Community Foundation

Canadian Online Giving Foundation

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities

Carlton One Engagement ULC

Carthay Foundation

Charlottetown Rotary Radio

City of Charlottetown

Clean Foundation

Community Foundation of PEI

Echo Foundation

Energy Transition Fund

Estate of Ian Gardiner Waddell

Government of Canada

Government of Nova Scotia

Government of Prince Edward Island

Interministerial Women's Secretariat

Legacy Fund for the Environment

N. A. Taylor Foundation

New Roots Herbal Inc.

Open Sky

Orchestre de L'Agora

Ottawa Community Foundation

PEERS Alliance

PEI Alliance for Mental Well-Being

PEI Union of Public Service Employees

Has a Heart

PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund

Project Learning Tree Canada

Province of Nova Scotia

Province of Prince Edward Island

Rotary Club of Charlottetown

Skills PEI

St. Louis Community Foundation

Strategic Charitable Giving Foundation

TD Friends of the Environment

The Susan & Graham Smith Foundation

United Way - Prince Edward Island

United Way (Centraide) of Eastern Ontario

United Way of Greater Moncton

West River United Church

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